Scared......why?

[Bel03]

ok, so since recently getting my first snake, with plans to own more, my partner, who is a fish keeper, has decided he likes my hobby........however he & both my children want lizards.......my problem is that for some reason, which i have never understood, i am terrified of them! Although i have always been careful with snakes, i have never had a fear of them, lizards though.......i freak! Has anyone else ever felt like this.......& if so, how did u overcome it? My sister in law has 2 Bearded Dragons, i have started 'spending time' with them to try & overcome my fear......& while i do find them to be BEAUTIFUL, i havn't been able to touch them or even have them near me......well not without going into panic mode! :?

 

[Chris]

LOL, I had the opposite fear, I was initially scared of snakes but not lizards (I always had lizards as a kid). My fear of snakes was due to the possibility of being seriously bitten which 'touch wood' hasn't happenend yet (but it will I know).

 

[Bel03]

Yeah my partner is the same as u, while he isnt terrified or anything he certainly is very weary of my little Bredli Hatchy......more so the fear that she will 'eat him' when she is big! :lol: I have also had many other ppl say they cant understand my fear seeing as though i love snakes so much......& i guess it probably is a bit odd......but ive always felt this way! I was chased by 4 BIG goanna's at my year 6 camp......many years ago but my fear of lizards started before that......maybe they could sense that i was afraid! :lol:

 

[mad_at_arms]

My girlfriend took months to get used to my beardie. Full on freeze in terror if she realised that he was in close proximity. Then eventually she relaxed and one day she came in the bedroom holding him. (albeit briefly)
Brought a tear to my eye.:cry:

 

[Shadow86]

A fear is a fear IMO.i have friends who are scared of frogs and spiders. A good friend who lived with me was truly scared of my snakes. couldn't be within in a 100 foot of my smallest snake. but after slowly breaking down the barriers slowly, he not only got over his fear but owns just as many as me now. it just takes time.

 

[unicorns_dreams]

I know where you are coming from, I had a fear of blue tongue lizards, and took a long time to get thru it, it needs to happen slowly not forced on you, otherwise it just reinforces the fear, I own snakes and handle my step son's bearded dragon, and it tooks years to handle a lizard without feeling like dropping it and getting as far away from it as possible, take your time and you will get thru it. good luck.

 

[Bel03]

Thanks guys, i just wondered if it was common to be afraid of lizards & yet not snakes......i feel a little strange! :? I have tried handling my sister in laws twice now, & both times ive turned into a big baby & just cant do it! Ive even tried just telling myself they are just snakes with legs.....but nope, still a wuss! My partner has agreed he isnt getting one just yet, he will let me try overcome my fear first..... but i really think its just cause he likes my cooking & doesnt want me to move out! :lol:

 

[Nighthawk]

Try this one on for size; I'm okay with smaller snakes and some larger ones (for some reason some carpets I can't handle that well, but I'm getting there... it didn't help that when I was pregnant for some reason most of our pythons went mental snappy around me :/), fine with lizards, dogs; not a worry, spiders; as long as they're not on me I'm fine. But cockroaches give me the major heebies. Go figure...? Logically I know it's inane, but stick a cockroach near me and I'll stick to the ceiling to try and get away from the thing.

 

[Defective]

im the same as Nighthawk.....its the reason Yoda doesnt get roaches at feed time.....*shudders* heebie jeebies alright but i'm fine with huntsmans (only spider i will handle) and as long as others are in the enclosure i'll have a peek, snakes of all sizes im fine, all lizards, most domestic animals and babies all good!

 

[Bel03]

oh i understand ur fear of roaches......i have 1 for them 2! Aswell as toads, grasshoppers & spiders! & its not that i just dont like them, my heart turns into a jackhammer if any of these are near me! The roaches & toads fear, i blame my brothers for, they used to chase me with them. Grass hoppers, well......YUCK they fly right at me! I once walked to the street behind my street to climb the back fence to get to my house cause there was a grasshopper on my front gate! & Spiders......although its not a massive fear, i will not touch them, my mum has some kind of big ugly bird eating spider & i cant look at that without getting goosebumps. I also have a fear of birds......but i am getting over this thanks to my darling children owning a cockatiel each......& they are great, so long as they are not flying around my head! BUT....the lizard fear, well that has just always confused me, cause i have no idea what it is about them that freaks me out so much......they are not ugly like roaches etc!

 

[spida_0000]

100% understand where your coming from Bel. shinglebacks and blue tongues freak me out so much, I even hate looking at them in the shops!! My friend has a bearded dragon and I've only just started to hold him and he is ok, but I'm still
Not a fan.. Give me a snake or monitor any day!!

 

[Jen]

Would you consider getting some geckos before skinks or dragons? They are lovely animals, not so much a handle pet, but awesome to watch. this might help a bit with your fear, especially as they are so much smaller than most other lizards. I have a friend - 6 foot tall scotsman - who is terrified of any type of lizard, he used to totally freak out when I would point out a garden skink, let alone the blues that lived around our garden.
I do wonder though, if you are scared of roaches (I totally get that!) and grasshoppers/crix, what would you feed them lol?

 

[Bel03]

We have many 'house geckos' & they still scare me......i think it will take time, i just need to bite the bullet & start working with the in laws beardies......maybe not handling them but i will try pat them! As for when & if we get a lizard......i wont be doing the feeding, already sorted that one out!

 

[Chris1]

since you have access to some, just take a deep breath and get one of the owners to place the calmest lizard on your chest, all you have to do is put a hand over its back,...(that way it willl be comfy and calm not tryiing to grab at stuff)

a while ago i took some beardies to a friends kids party as a favour, 1 mum was so scared she was a few driveways down, shaking and close to tears, refusing to come back to teh party,...after a while she did, she saw her kids handling the lizards and decided to have a go,..

an hour later i had to pry Kaida out of her hands, she was absolutely smitten and didnt wanna give her back,...!!!

 

[user 29560]

Oh come on you guys...scared of beardies?!

 

[ekipkcorb]

my missus loves beardies but is **** scared of snakes. this is as close as she will get to him, she's gettin better but and plus he doesnt care much. hes just happy photobombing pictures on his time off

 

[TaraLeigh]

It's ok Bel, your not the only one. Aha.
I have a friend that moved to the NT for a couple of years, I didn't have reptiles at that stage and between then and now, I might as well be living in a zoo. She's been wanting to come over and see me and my snakes but can't handle the idea of all the lizards/dragons/monitors. Haha. I think it's funny in a non offensive way. She freaks out. Hates them. But thinks snakes are beautiful and loves them.
We have reptiles all over the house so she can't just close her eyes and focus on a python. I could just blindfold and lead her all the way to my bedroom maybe. Haha.
We all have funny fears.

 

[Raddy318]

i love snakes, but can NOT stand lizards crawling on me!

 

[phantomreptiles]

It's spiders for me! I start sweating and feeling faint if I see one.
At the gold coast expo I had to leave a stand as there was some spiders on display:-( I have spent a few nights on the sofa because I saw a spider in my bedroom, I could not ever imagine getting over my fear

 

[user 29560]

my missus loves beardies but is **** scared of snakes. this is as close as she will get to him, she's gettin better but and plus he doesnt care much. hes just happy photobombing pictures on his time off

That is the best photobomb I've ever seen, it's just a damn shame he wasn't in focus. You should have a thread dedicated to that if you have more!

It's spiders for me! I start sweating and feeling faint if I see one.
At the gold coast expo I had to leave a stand as there was some spiders on display:-( I have spent a few nights on the sofa because I saw a spider in my bedroom, I could not ever imagine getting over my fear

Yeah, this I can relate to. :blush: I've been a real wimp when it comes to spiders all my life. So, I'm overcoming that by keeping a tarantula pet now. We've had her (Mexican redknee) for a few weeks now and I finally handled her with bare hands for the first time and it's helping me get comfortable with spiders in general. I already picked up a little Antilles pinktoe spiderling now, also. So now I have an impending tarantula collecting problem.